Australian Chamber Orchestra

Dvořák’s Serenade

Australian Chamber Orchestra 2023 Season Tickets are now available to purchase

Concert Hall, QPAC


7 Aug 2023
$49 - $129

A transaction fee of $7.20 applies.

Discounts Available

Concession, Student, Youth, Groups

more info

2 hours

(including interval, subject to change without notice)

This August the Australian Chamber Orchestra (ACO) will embark on a thrilling adventure to Bohemia to perform the visceral, virtuosic and utterly exhilarating music of Antonín Dvořák and Béla Bartók.

The concert opens with Dvořák’s sublime Serenade for Strings, music that conjures the warm sun on your back and the lush forests of the Czech composer’s homeland. One of his most popular and joyful works, it is filled with sunny optimism and soaring melodies.

Hungarian composer Bartók is one of the most important composers of the 20th century and his String Quartet No.5, with its incredible spectrum of colours, rhythmic vitality and emotion, is one of the most challenging pieces of string music ever written. In a new arrangement for string orchestra by ACO Artistic Director Richard Tognetti, this electrifying music will push the breathtaking virtuosity of the ACO to its very limits.

Bartók and Dvořák are in fine company with the magnetic music of Pulitzer Prize and Grammy award winning New York composer Caroline Shaw. Like Dvořák, a love of dance permeates her music, with her artistic collaborations ranging from Yo–Yo Ma to Rosalía and her music appearing on the likes of Bombshell, Yellowjackets, and Beyonce’s Homecoming.

Surrender yourself to this unforgettable journey.

Please note: This event was previously known as Bohemian Serenades.


Antonín Dvořák Serenade for Strings in E major, Op.22
Caroline Shaw Entr’acte
Josef Suk Meditation on the Old Czech Hymn “St Wenceslas”, Op.35a
Béla Bartók (arr. Richard Tognetti) String Quartet No.5

Richard Tognetti AO Director & Violin
Australian Chamber Orchestra


I left the ACO performance feeling like something had shifted in me. I had seen something that moved me and was beautiful – and somehow the world was not the same place it had been before I went into Hamer Hall.

The Guardian

You may also like

Important Information

Accessibility at QPAC

For wheelchair users, Companion Card holders or those requiring assistance, dedicated seating options are available, and bookings can be made through our Call Centre by calling 136 246. You can also find information on access and accessibility at QPAC here .

Presented by Australian Chamber Orchestra